Cappuccino cake

Ingredients

250g pack butter , softened
250g light soft brown sugar plus 2-3 tbsp
300g self-raising flour
4 eggs , beaten
50g walnuts , toasted and finely chopped (a food processor is easiest), optional
200ml very strong coffee (made fresh or with instant), cooled

FOR THE FROSTING:
500g tub mascarpone
2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
cocoa powder or drinking chocolate to decorate

Preparation method

Prep: 15 mins. Cook: 30 mins

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper. Beat butter and sugar together with electric beaters until pale and creamy. Add the fl our and eggs in one go and keep beating until evenly mixed. Fold in the walnuts (if using) and half of the coffee. Spoon the mix into the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden and well risen.
2. Leave the cakes in their tins for 5 mins before turning onto a wire rack. Sweeten the remaining coffee with the extra sugar and sprinkle 4 tbsp over the sponges. Leave to cool completely.
3. While the cakes cool, make the frosting. Tip the mascarpone into a large bowl and beat in the sugar and remaining coffee until smooth and creamy. Use about half of the frosting to sandwich the sponges together then, using a palette or cutlery knife, spread the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake. Decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder or drinking chocolate. If you're making this cake to eat at home, it will keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Banana & blueberry muffins

Ingredients

300g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g light muscovado sugar
50g porridge oats , plus 1 tbsp for topping
2 medium bananas , the riper the better
284ml carton buttermilk
5 tbsp light olive oil
2 egg whites
150g punnet blueberries

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins. Cook: 20 mins. Serves: 12

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Tip the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Hold back 1 tbsp of the sugar, then mix the remainder with the flour and 50g oats. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas until nearly smooth. Stir the buttermilk, oil and egg whites into the mashed banana until evenly combined.
2. Pour the liquid mixture into the well and stir quickly and sparingly with a wooden spoon. The mix will look lumpy and may have the odd fleck of flour still visible, but don't be tempted to over-mix. Tip in the blueberries and give it just one more stir. Divide the mix between the muffin cases - they will be quite full - then sprinkle the tops with the final tbsp of the oats and the rest of he sugar. Bake for 18-20 mins until risen and dark golden. Cool for 5 mins in the tray before lifting out onto a rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Fondue

INGREDIENTS
12 ounces of dark chocolate (chips or roughly chopped if from a block)
8 ounces of heavy cream
A pinch of salt
Dippables such as strawberries, banana pieces cut into 1-inch chunks, dried appricots, candied ginger, apple pieces
METHOD
1 Warm the cream over moderate heat until tiny bubbles show and begins to lightly and slowly boil. Add the chocolate and whisk until smooth and full incorporated.
2 Immediately transfer to a fondue pot heated at low or with a low flame, or serve straight from the pot.
3 Arrange the dippables on a platter or plates around the chocolate pot. Use a fondue fork, bamboo skewer, seafood fork, or salad fork to dip the fruit pieces and other dippables into the hot melted cream chocolate mixture. Eat immediately.
If the fondue begins to feel a little stiff, add a tablespoon of heavy cream and stir. It will help it go a little longer. Eventually, it will cook down though and you may need to start a new pot.

Shortbread

Ingredients

300g butter , softened
140g golden caster sugar , plus 4 tbsp
300g plain flour
140g rice flour

Preparation method

Prep: 15 mins. Cook: 20-25 mins

1. Place the butter and 140g sugar in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Tip in both the flours and a pinch of salt, then whizz until mixture comes together.
2. Using your hands, roughly spread the mixture out in a 20 x 30 x 4cm baking tray. Cover with cling film and smooth over until there are no wrinkles. Place in the fridge, uncooked, for at least 30 mins and up to 2 days.
3. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Remove cling film, then lightly mark the shortbread all over with a fork. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar, then bake for 20-25 mins. Leave to cool in the tin, then cut into 24 thin slices. Shortbread will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Raspberry & white chocolate traybake

Ingredients

375g pack ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
500g mascarpone
100g golden caster sugar
100g ground almonds
2 large eggs
250g fresh raspberries
100g white chocolate , roughly chopped

Preparation method

Prep: 10 mins. Cook: 30 mins

1. Heat oven to 160c/fan 140c/gas 4. roll out the pastry a little more on a floured surface and use to line a 30 x 20cm tin, or a Swiss roll tin. Line with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans and cook for 10 mins. Take out the beans and paper, then return to the oven for a further 5 mins.
2. Whisk together the mascarpone, sugar, almonds and eggs until well blended. Fold in the raspberries and chocolate, then pour into the tin. Bake for 20-25 mins until just set and lightly golden. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave the tray bake to cool gradually. For the best results, chill for at least 1 hr before slicing.

Chocolate fudge cake

Ingredients

200g plain chocolate , broken into chunks (use one with a low cocoa content - we used Waitrose plain Belgian chocolate)
200g butter
200g light brown muscovado sugar
100ml soured cream
2 eggs , beaten
200g self-raising flour
5 tbsp cocoa powder
hundreds and thousands , to decorate

FOR THE ICING
100g plain chocolate
170g can condensed milk
100g butter

Preparation method

Prep: 20 mins. Cook: 1 hour

1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a 22 x 22cm square tin with baking parchment. Put the chocolate, butter and sugar into a large pan with 100ml hot water and gently melt together. Set aside for 2 mins, then stir in the soured cream followed by the eggs. Finally, stir or whisk in the flour and cocoa until lump-free, then pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 50-55 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Sit the tin on a wire rack to cool.
2. Meanwhile, make the icing. Gently melt together icing ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then chill or cool until spreadable.
3. To decorate, carefully turn out the cooled cake and peel off the baking parchment. Spread the icing over the top and scatter with hundreds and thousands, then cut the cake into triangles or fingers before serving.

Classic Victoria sponge cake

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:
200g caster sugar
200g softened butter
4 eggs , beaten
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk

FOR THE FILLING:
100g butter , softened
140g icing sugar , sifted
drop vanilla extract (optional)
340g jar good-quality strawberry jam ( we used Tiptree Little Scarlet)
icing sugar , to decorate

Preparation method

Ready in 30 mins, plus cooling

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
2. Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
3. To make the filling, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar. Beat in vanilla extract if you're using it. Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges, top it with jam and sandwich the second sponge on top. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.